Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The smother that earned him the ball cannoning into his face. The tackle deep in Fremantle’s forward pocket that regained possession for Brisbane, all the way down the other end of the ground for the goal that put them back in front.
The Lions call these “fight to win” acts.
They are why Josh Dunkley is the AFL’s only current four-time premiership player.
Yes, his opponent Shai Bolton won the Norm Smith Medal in Saturday’s grand final. Yes, he’s never flashy and rarely racks up big disposal numbers.
But coach Chris Fagan is emphatic about what the tough-as-teak midfielder has meant to Brisbane, since he joined from the Western Bulldogs.
“It’s no surprise we’ve played every grand final since he’s been at our club,” Fagan said of their co-captain.
“He brought a defensive element to our team that we didn’t have.
“The example he sets with multiple tackles, smothers, all the hard things – he’s inspired all the other boys to get involved in that side of the game, I reckon.”
Fagan said of the 28 games this season, Dunkley would have won “fight to win” their internal club rating, in 24 of them.
“He averages about 35 to 38 a game. That’s an incredible number,” Fagan said.
“He values that side of the game and we value what he does in that side of the game.”
The man himself stood amid the joyful chaos of the Brisbane rooms late on Saturday afternoon, a huge grin across his face and another premiership medal dangling from his neck.
Dunkley had played in the Western Bulldogs’ 2016 premiership team before joining the Lions for the 2023 season, which ended with their grand final loss to Collingwood.
He probably has played better in other grand finals, but the ball he copped in the face from smothering a Bolton kick was crucial. So was the tackle on Hayden Young that started the chain of possessions, leading to Logan Morris kicking the goal that regained the lead deep in the final quarter.
“It got me square in the face, didn’t it? They’re the moments – ever since I was a young kid, I’ve done that stuff,” Dunkley told AAP.
“If I can stand up in a moment like that, I will.”
It will surprise no-one who knows Dunkley that he also refused to take credit for his efforts.
“You have to thank the guys around you. I’m very lucky I’ve had all these people throughout my journey, who’ve helped me become who I am,” he said of becoming a four-time premiership player.
“Everyone looks at the record and thinks ‘how good is that?’. But it’s not me. It’s not me. I would never want it to be me.
“It’s all about the people that I’m around and all I want is for others around me to be better. So that’s what I do.”
